Lower 1, Week 16

Fall '07 - Upper 1, Week 16

Overall Impression:

Pretty fucked up workout.

Deadlifts = 1 set x 1 rep x 275 lbs

so i warmed up like normal today. and i was all set for 275. so i pick up 275 and my form is perfect all the way but somewhere around midpoint, my lower back starts hurting like a fucking bitch. in the sense it was a sudden unexpected jolt of pain out of nowhere! i was so shocked but i finished my rep with good form and when i put the barbell down, it hurt me again at the same position as it had before. fuck. remember a while ago i had an injury on my lower back? that was near my spine. after that injury went i still had some little pain remaining but that was more to the left of the original pain. well, right now that fucking spot is hurting. well, not right now. ive come back from the gym but if i bend too low it hurts a lot. im gonna rest this for some time and see if it gets better. maybe ill have to lay off deadlifting for a while. its still hurting a bit but not at all as bad as it did when i actually deadlifted. fucking injuries. also, just before the pain hit me on that rep, i felt as if someone had knocked the wind outta my stomach. wierd.

Reverse Hypers = 2 sets x 10 reps x 25 lbs

i did some light sets to hopefully ease the pain. i have no clue if this was good or bad. probably bad. fuck.

Leaving Thoughts:

bad workout. i need to wait and see what happens.

Upper 2, Week 16

Fall '07 - Upper 2, Week 16

Overall Impression:

diet has been fucking amazing. im hungry all the time which is really odd. but ive been having a lot of food every 2-3 hours for the last 2 days....sleep is also going good (more than my usual 5-6 hours a night). i did cardio for 45 minutes yesterday on some sort of step-up machine or cross-trainer...my legs were pretty sore yesterday and i thought by doing low intensity cardio perhaps they would become less sore and i was so wrong because my legs are hurting today...damn....its painful to walk to my classes! tomorrow is a complete off day. hopefully my legs will be ok by then.

Barbell Military Press = 3 sets x 7 reps x 115 lbs

felt pretty easy. could've done 1 more set but i decided to save that for next time. militaries arent that easy to progress on and right now the simple "add 5 lbs to the bar every session" principle isnt gonna work for me. so im gonna try triple progression (add reps or sets or weight or 2 of the 3 or all 3) so next week ill be doing 3x7x115...

Pull-ups = 5 sets x 3 reps x BW

i completely bombed on this today. i have no idea why this exercise was so tough for me. maybe because im eating so much food ive gotten heavier lol....but this was really difficult. im hoping this becomes ok by next week or so. if not, ill start doing 3x5 then 4x5 then 5x5...lets see

Paused Flat Dumbbell Bench Press = 3 sets x 12 reps x 50 lbs

pretty tough. next week im going to try 3x10 with 55 or 60 depending on how i feel. actually, scratch that idea. im gonna be doing unilateral presses next week so the weights gonna go down to probably 40 or 45....more on this next week.

Cable Rows = 2 sets x 7 reps x 150 lbs

did this exercise after a year...

Facepulls = 1 sets x 12 reps x 50 lbs

nothing special to report.

Russian Twists = 1 sets x 12 reps x 25 lbs

nothing special to report.

Leaving Thoughts:

good workout IMO. very productive.

cheers and have a good week y'all

Lower 2, Week 16

Fall '07 - Lower 2, Week 16

Overall Impression:

ive been eating a LOT of food. no, a shitlot. i fucking go to sleep at 2:00 am and wake up at 6 so hungry u have no idea......ive been doing this for the last 2 days: eat midnight meal of a chicken sandwhich, sleep at 2, wake up at 6 am hungry, eat another chicken sandwhich plus a weightgainer shake, go to bed till 11, wake up hungry, go get some lunch (chinese), sleep (i was awfully sleepy) wake up around 4, get some food (chicken quesadilla), do some work, eat a heavy dinner at 8. eat another meal at midnight, sleep, repeat cycle. pretty wierd

but whatever...im feeling much better today. i think im almost over my jetlag which is good...

Deep Squats = 4 sets x 5 reps x 225 lbs

shifting from 14 weeks of low box squatting to oly squatting (or "deep" squatting) is pretty difficult. 225 felt very easy on my back but getting the movement right was a tad bit difficult. im still not at my 100% so this wasnt so easy but the good news is that my last set was better than my first i think next week im going to try 225 for 4x6 before i increase the weight. im not too disappointed though. i had anticipated these minor set backs. all this plane travel does fuck up ur system sometime. i guess my chance to get fucked was now lol..but, im eating a lot of food and im resting well oustide of the gym so ill be back on my feet soon i cant say the weight felt too heavy because it didnt. the weight by itself didnt feel heavy at all. but the motion of doing deep squats felt kinda awkward at first (for example, my knee hurt a bit but then i figured out why - i was pulling my knees together but then i got that sorted out in the warm-ups so it didnt affect the work sets at all) and thats what made the weight so darn heavy. im sure in a short while ill be back to my old way of squatting without any worries.

Unilateral Romanian Deadlifts = 2 sets x 10 reps x 65 lbs

damn, Eric was right...my left leg is a lot weaker. but i think its become stronger because i didnt have to put it down (rest it on the floor) as many times when i did this. its not as strong as my right leg but i can see that its catching up. this is good.

Romanian Deadlifts = 3 sets x 5 reps x 135 lbs

i wanted to take this exercise easy so i didnt push myself too much. it was pretty light and smooth.

Reverse Hyperextensions = 2 sets x 10 reps x 25 lbs

i missed this machine when i was back home lol...(no homo)

Overhead Plate Side Bends = 2 sets x 8 reps x 10 lbs

nothing special to report.

Leaving Thoughts:

ill try and do some cardio tomorrow. im not so worried about my squats because i actually knew something like this would happen. but im sure in like 4-5 weeks ill be back in better action than before on these.

cheers and have a good week y'all

Upper 1, Week 15

Fall '07 - Upper 1, Week 15

Overall Impression:

i am still not at a 100%. i feel bloated. maybe its the wazy maize ive started having. im trying to figure out my diet all over again. this isnt home where i get to eat 1-2 kgs of chicken a day in the last 14 weeks i have not relied on supplements at all. yet, now when im here it seems to be different: i rely on them a whole lot more. im taking in like 3-4 scoops of weightgainer a day. that makes it a little over 800 calories right there. im also having waxy maize 1-2 scoops a day. i had 1 scoops of WMS and 2 scoops of Weightgainer before i hit the gym today. i worked out in the morning. apparently im not so over my jetlag as i thought i was. this is bad news. its never happened to me that im not over jet lag. i sleep the entire time on the flight so i have zero jet lag. something must've gone wrong somewhere. hopefully, ill be over this soon. im also not that strong. i dunno why but im feeling kinda weak. i had 7 litres of water as soon as i landed i was that dehydrated. so it cant be that anymore. maybe my body is getting used to the climate. maybe its because im very tense about studies right now. im not sure what it is but i hope everything works out fine. im giving this till next week to get myself straight. otherwise im gonna have to reduce volume and load on all workout days for a while. i hate this. but this is just a temporary set-back. also, i hate college food. too bad i dont have a car. otherwise id go out and eat almost everyday. the cost would be the same but the quantity would be a whole lot more. and quality would be better too. i might get a car next year though. i also weighed myself. im at 184. its like 1 lbs down from my usual bad day 185....which is sad but its not too bad. probably another temporary set back. also, my lower back is behavng wierd once again damnit. i think its because on box squats i plop down too fast. but im not going to be doing box squats for the next 5-6 weeks so no need to worry about that right now. we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Flat Bench Press = 10 sets x 3 reps x 165 lbs

this wasnt as easy as i expected it to be. keeping the 60 seconds to 72 seconds rest interval is tough work. this should have been much easier than it actually was. perhaps its because im still not 100% over the jetlag.

Hammer Grip Chin-ups = 3 sets x 5 reps x bodyweight

getting used to a new grip. i plan on doing 4x6 next time.

Unilateral Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press = 3 sets x 10 reps x 40 lbs

Eric has me doing seated presses once more. feels very good. i think 40 lbs is a fairly decent weight to start with. it felt pretty heavy and set 3 was a fucking killer. im sticking to the weight next time. ill just bump the reps

Rows = 4 sets x 5 reps x 135 lbs

after doing so much work these rows were pretty tough to do. i realize why kethnaab put rows last in his WS4BB program. but, i didnt push myself too much and all reps were smooth. i could have handled 145 i think. next time im doing 135 for 4x6 or 4x7. lets see.

Overhead Shrugs = 1 set x 12 reps x 45 lbs

nothing special to report.

Plate Side Bends = 2 sets x 10 reps x 25 lbs

nothing to report here too

Leaving Thoughts:

might do cardio tomorrow. i want to rest up for the next squat session. i intend to do 225 for 4x6. but if im not feeling it by monday and if im still a little down, i plan on doing 4x6 with 185 next week and then 225 the week after. so, if things dont go as i had planned before, and im very tired and drained out, ill be doing
Week 16 = 4x6x185
Week 17 = 4x6x225
Week 18 = 4x6x245
Week 19 = 4x6x255
Week 20 = max out with 315 and try to do 315x5.

lets see how this goes. it all depends on just how temporary this temporary set back is.

cheers and have a good weekend y'all

Lower 1, Week 15

Fall '07 - Lower 1, Week 15

Overall Impression:

i flew in from mumbai last evening. by the time i moved my stuff from the storage into my room and unpacked all this stuff it was 3:00 am. i had an 8:30 am class today. infact, i had classes from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm with only two one-hour-long gaps in the middle. needless to say, today was a tough day. luckily for me i dont suffer from any jet lag. i slept the entire time on the plane. but my body seems to be a little tired. as for diet: i got all my supps today. i ate quite a lot of food today but on the 29 hour flight while coming here i didnt eat a thing because the food was really bad. and i didnt drink enough water. so im very dehydrated. but, i didnt want to not workout today so i decided to go in and do some relatively light stuff.

Deadlifts = 1 set x 6 reps x 225 lbs, 1 set x 10 reps x 135 lbs

felt pretty easy. the back off set was just for kicks. my target is to hit 315x5 by the end of 6 weeks.

Bar Walkouts = 2 walkouts with 315 lbs

this is a very simple exercise. i load the bar with my projected squat max. then i walk out with the bar and stand for a few seconds. then i go and re-rack the bar. 315 is my prjected squat max at the moment. i dont know if its because of my dehydrated and weak state or the fact that 315 lbs is a lot or both, 315 felt very heavy. im glad Eric has me doing these walkouts.

Bulgarian Squats = 2 sets x 6 reps x 60 lbs

i was tired from the walkouts and the deads, i didnt feel 100% with this exercise.

Glute Ham Raises = 2 sets x 8 reps

ok now i finally have access to a GHR machine!!! whoo-hoo!!! i cant believe i nailed 8 reps on my own with zero cheating. week i am going to take a vid of this.

Grip Work using Hammer Curls = 2 sets x 5 reps x 50 lbs

nothing special to report.

Front Plate Squats = 2 sets x 10 reps x 25 lbs

in this exercise u hold the plate in front of u with ur hands and u squat down with the bar moving in a perpendicular angle with the ground the entire way. it really hits ur abs very hard.

Leaving Thoughts:

might do cardio tomorrow. the goal right now is to shove food down my throat though....

anyways,

cheers

Plan for Fall 2007

this one is once again credited to Eric3237

the plan for this Fall semester is:

1.) get my bench up to repping with 225. im at 205 right now so in 16 weeks i wanna rep 225.

2.) squat deep (i wont call it OLY squatting because of Rippetoe's last post) 315 for 5. right now i am at 295x4.

3.) deadlift somewhere close to 405. i have no idea where i am right now because of my injury.

4.) get a whole lot thicker.

5.) get healthier

the summer program Eric designed for me has worked beautifully. i am no bodybuilder but my physique has improved. more importantly, my strength has increased a LOT. im also much healthier now. all thanks to Eric.

the program for Fall is another upper-lower with a few modifications. most of the program is exactly as my program right now though. just a few minor changes which Eric has made.

instead of workout out 4x a week, i am going to be doing a 9-10 day rotation.

lower 1
off
upper 1
off
lower 2
off
upper 2
off
off / repeat

on some off days i will do very low intensity cardio for long durations (45 minutes to 90 minutes). i will only do this as long as it does not screw my progress or fail to dissipate fatigue.

the program:

Lower 1
Deadlift 1x5
Bulgarian Squats 2-3 sets
GHRs 2-3 sets
Grip Work like Hammer Curls for 2-4 sets
Standing Ab Pull Downs 2-3 sets

- for deadlifts i will either increase reps, increase the weight or do more sets. this will change from workout to workout and i will go mostly by "feel". its not direct planned progression but the general rules are no going to failure and no using shitty form.
- whenever i max out on squats (this will happen 1-3 times this semester) i will replace the deads with squats.
- before doing max outs, i will do walkouts with my projected weight. these walkouts will be done last in this workout after GHRs.

Upper 1
Flat Bench Press 10x3 w/ 60 second rest periods start at 165 and add 5 lbs a session
Chin-ups 3-4 sets of 5-6 reps
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Presses 3x8-12
Rows 4x5-7
Overhead Shrugs 1-2 sets

- Flat bench presses will be for 10x3. rest intervals are only 60-72 seconds. i will start light at 165 and add 5 lbs to the bar every week. my 5x5 max is 180. by week 5 i will be nailing 185 for 10x3. the goal is to get stronger and bigger.
- its time i start doing seated dumbbell presses. im going to start out light and easy with these because of my previous injuries.

Lower 2
Low Box Squats / Squats Ramping up 4x6 style
Single Leg RDLs 2x6-10
RDLs 3x6-10
Reverse Hypers 2-3 sets for therapeutic value
Overhead Plate Side Bends 1-2 sets

- whenever i max out on squats, i will be having a 3-4 weeks "loading" period where i will train balls to the wall for 4x6. otherwise, i will be doing regular low box squats for 3x8.
- the rest of the workout is exactly as it is right now.

Upper 2
Military Press 3-4 sets of 5-7 reps
Pull-ups 4x failure
flat dumbbell pause presses 3x8-12
Cable Rows 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps
Facepulls
Russian Twists

- military press progression will be done via triple or double progression.
- pause presses with dumbbells are to work on bottom part of the bench press.

the immediate plan is that i will be arriving at Trinity on the 22nd (Wednesday) evening. thursday the 23rd i have an 8:30 am class. so, by the time i get settled in and get all my protein plus the text books, etc it will be friday. THEREFORE, my next workout is going to be either on next Friday the 24th of August or Saturday the 25th of August. or maybe the 27th of August: monday. but most probably it will be the 24th.

special thanks to Eric for helping me design this program. actually, saying he helped me design it is a massive understatement. its thanks to him that this program even exists! its all his work with probably 1-2 small minor changes i made upon his permission.so anyways, MAJOR props to Eric

i will be posting as usual but the next update will be roughly 7-9 days from now.

cheers and thanks for reading!

Summer '07 Upper-Lower Split
LOWER 2 - WEEK 14


Workout:-

Low Box Squats = 1 set x 3 reps x 265 lbs (120 kgs)

Low Box Squats = 1 set x 3 reps x 225 lbs (100 kgs)

Low Box Squats = 2 sets x 5 reps x 205 lbs (90 kgs)

Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts = 2 sets x 12 reps x 60 lbs (30 kgs)

Romanian Deadlifts = 3 sets x 6 reps x 135 lbs (60 kgs)

Standing Ab Pulldowns = 2 sets x 10 reps x 70 lbs (35 kgs)

Overall Impression:-

killer workout.

Low Box Squats: instead of doing 4x6 i thought id try for a new PR on these. 265 is a brand new PR for me. i got it on vid. 265x3 was not to failure. i could have knocked out 2 reps easy. i did some lighter weights for 3 sets total. nothing was even close to failure. im very happy with this workout. 265 was a bit tough but my abs are still sore from monday's decline sit ups with 25 lbs on me....these sore abs really ruined this lift for me because im pretty sure i could have taken atleast 15-20 lbs more for 3 reps....

Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts: much better form than last week.

Romanian DeadliftS: felt good.

Diet: lots of food

Overall: it was a good workout. i liked it.

hope everyone's week is going good.

thanks for reading

peace

Summer '07 Upper-Lower Split
LOWER 1 - WEEK 14


Workout:-

Deadlifts = 1 set x 5 reps x 245 lbs (110 kgs)

Bulgarian Split Squats = 2 sets x 8 reps x 60 lbs (30 kgs - 14 kgs per hand)

Overhead Dumbbell Side Bends = 2 sets x 10 reps x 10 lbs (5 kgs)

Grip Work using Hammer Curls = 3 sets x 4 reps x 60 lbs (26 kgs per hand)

Hyperextensions = 1 set x 15 reps

Overall Impression:-

very short workout.

Deadlifts: felt pretty ok. waiting for youtube to allow the vid...

Bulgarian Squats: felt good.

Grip Work: teh hammerzz curlzz were good hahaha.....next time its gonna be 65 lbs a hand lol

Diet: very sad diet.

Overall: very short workout. i will probably start doing speed deads from next time on. but the next workout will be after 10 days or so since next tuesday night i leave mumbai and fly back to trinity. damn, im really sad about this. i agree 100% with Serpens Aeon that leaving ur family so many times doesnt make it easier each time but way more difficult. so the plan is this week i finish all the workouts (hopefully) and my next workout will be from next thursday or friday onwards. that plan will be put up in a few days.

have a good one everyone

Summer '07 Upper-Lower Split
LOWER 2 - WEEK 13


Workout:-

Low Box Squats = 4 sets x 6 reps x 205 lbs (90 kgs)

Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts = 2 sets x 12 reps x 60 lbs (30 kgs)

Romanian Deadlifts = 3 sets x 6 reps x 165 lbs (75 kgs)

Standing Ab Pulldowns = 2 sets x 10 reps x 70 lbs (35 kgs)

Overall Impression:-

very cool workout.

Low Box Squats: i got 2 vids of these. they felt good. i really tried hard to push with my heels..

Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts: got a vid here too...dont laugh at me...the balancing is shit difficult..

Romanian DeadliftS: felt good.

Diet: not too good. im force feeding myself a lot. im a little depressed im going back in less than 12 days....i dont feel like eating. however, i think i forgot to mention this...one of the components of my post workout meal is 4 scoops of whey....its all the whey i eat on workout days only. on off days i dont take any whey. the meat i eat is enough i think.

Overall: it was a good workout. i liked it.

hope everyone's week is going good.

thanks for reading

peace

Summer '07 Upper-Lower Split
LOWER 1 - WEEK 13


Workout:-

Deadlifts = 1 set x 8 reps x 205 lbs (90 kgs)

Bulgarian Split Squats = 2 sets x 8 reps x 60 lbs (30 kgs - 14 kgs per hand)

Overhead Dumbbell Side Bends = n/a

Grip Work using Hammer Curls = 6 sets x 2 reps x 60 lbs (26 kgs per hand)

Hyperextensions = 1 set x 15 reps

Overall Impression:-

short + sweet workout.

Deadlifts: very very easy. i liked it

Bulgarian Squats: felt good.

Grip Work: teh hammerzz curlzz were good hahaha.....

Diet: im happy. lots of food coming in...

Overall: good workout.

have a good one everyone

Summer '07 Upper-Lower Split
UPPER 2 - WEEK 12


Workout:-

Military Press = 4 sets x 5 reps x 120 lbs (55 kgs)

Pull-ups = 8 + 6 + 5 + 4 = 23

Close Grip Bench Press = 2 sets x 5 reps x 165 lbs (75 kgs)

Overhead Shrugs = 3 sets x 20 reps x 75 lbs (35 kgs)

Russian Twists = 2 sets x 10 reps x 25 lbs (10 kgs)

Decline Sit-ups = 2 sets x 15 reps x BW

TOTAL POUNDAGE:-

W12 --->>> 12,805 lbs
W11 --->>> n/a
W10 --->>> 12,610 lbs
W9 --->>> 11,730 lbs
W8 --->>> 11,050 lbs
W7 --->>> 10,655 lbs
W6 --->>> 11,220 lbs
W5 ---->>> 12,210 lbs
W4 --->>> 13,270 lbs
W3 --->>> n/a
W2 --->>> n/a
W1 --->>> 8,847 lbs

Overall Impression:-

took two vids today. one was of CGBP and the other was a form check vid of me doing rows with 135 (only 1 light set)....

Military Press: somehow i didnt feel this exercise today. i dunno, i really wanted to do 5x5 with this this week but i decided to change my grip on these and do them exactly how they are laid out in SS and i found this too tough to do a 5th set of. so i stopped at 4. ill try for set #5 next time.

Pull-ups: nothing new

Close Grip Bench Press: new PR

Overhead Shrugs: i did some really high rep shit because i was doing it controlled and not baliistically. so i thought id knock out a few more reps per set...im not going to increase the weight because i dont think it would be beneficial for my shoulders. however, i will reduce reps next week...or i might not...

Russian Twists: nothing new

Decline Sit-ups: boring

Diet: good food.

Overall: pretty ok workout.

as always, have a GREAT weekend everyone!!!

Summer '07 Upper-Lower Split
LOWER 2 - WEEK 12


Workout:-

Low Box Squats = 3 sets x 8 reps x 185 lbs (85 kgs)

Romanian Deadlifts = 3 sets x 6 reps x 165 lbs (75 kgs)

Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts = 2 sets x 10 reps x 60 lbs (30 kgs)

Glute Ham Raises = 2 sets x 8 reps x BW

Standing Ab Pulldowns = 2 sets x 10 reps x 70 lbs (35 kgs)

Hyperextensions = 1 set x 15 reps x BW

TOTAL POUNDAGE:-

W12 --->>> 7,710 lbs
W11 --->>> n/a
W10 --->>> n/a
W9 --->>> 11,910 lbs
W8 --->>> 11,115 lbs
W7 --->>> 14,500 lbs
W6 --->>> 11,880 lbs
W5 --->>> 6,375 lbs
W4 --->>> n/a
W3 --->>> 15,060 lbs
W2 --->>> n/a
W1 --->>> 14,560 lbs

Overall Impression:-

good workout. took vids of 2 sets of low box squats, 2 sets of single leg RDLs and 2 sets of GHRs. the whole damn collection is over 20 MB so its gonna take some time to upload it to youtube...so please be patient

Low Box Squats: they felt tough but i think i did them with good form.

Romanian DeadliftS: felt good.

Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts: ok u guys are going to laugh a lot at these 2 vids. on the first one, i started out with my right leg and it was ok. then i shifted to my left leg and i couldnt balance the first few reps. i got the hang of it eventually. in the second vid, i start off with my left leg, have a few start up problems and then i shift to my right. here too i have some balance issues. damnit, this looked really really goofy. but, i hope to get better at this with time. after doing this exercise my hams and my ass were hurting a LOT.

Glute Ham Raises: my ass was hurting a lot. i dont know how i managed to do these. they werent perfect, but i tried to work on my form. not all the GHRs were good but im sure a few reps were.

Diet: great food. ate tons of food.

Overall: it was a good workout. i liked it.

hope everyone's week is going good.

thanks for reading

peace